Abhisit Vejjajiva

Abhisit Vejjajiva (3 August 1964-) was Prime Minister of Thailand from 17 December 2008 to 5 August 2011, succeeding Chaovarat Chanweerakul and preceding Yingluck Shinawatra. He belonged to the Democrat Party of Thailand.

Biography
Abhisit Vejjajiva was born in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England in 1964, and he was educated in the United Kingdom before returning to his family's home of Thailand and entering Parliament in 1991 at the age of 27 and becoming leader of the Democrat Party of Thailand in 2005. In 2008, the Constitutional Court appointed him Prime Minister at the young age of 44, and he promoted on improving the living conditions of rural and working-class citizens. His two economic stimulus packages led to a massive economic rebound in 2010, and he also advocated for anti-corruption measures. However, he was criticized for implementing censorship, leading to protests in 2009 and 2010. In 2010, the Royal Thai Army killed 90 people in a ruthless crackdown on the demonstrations, and, as the Islamist insurgency in South Thailand escalated, the government increased its use of torture and other human rights violations. In 2011, he stepped down as Prime Minister due to his party's poor performance that year, and he resigned as party leader after disappointing results in the 2019 election.